


The obvious and the outright blatant

by giantessmess



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-17 23:00:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15472026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/giantessmess/pseuds/giantessmess
Summary: During a city-wide black-out in a summer heatwave, Cat is suspicious of various cold things her supposedly non-super assistant manages to bring her.





	The obvious and the outright blatant

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hypnobyl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hypnobyl/gifts).



Every time the power went out like this, Cat always thought of Livewire. Just for a moment. Only a moment. The way the tendrils of electricity pulsed off Leslie’s body, the feeling of her gripping Cat’s shoulder too hard. The hand against Cat’s heart. One breath, two. And then Cat remembered. It was ok. She was in her office and Leslie was in some underground dungeon. Another breath, and the lights around her usually flickered back on. Cat shook it all off. She got on with things. If death was intent on coming for her, she’d die happier with all her day’s tasks accomplished. 

Today was a hot summer day and the power had been off for several hours. The heat made everything worse. Cat sent the bulk of her staff home with an eye roll, a flicked wrist. Useless, the lot of them, on a day like today. The few left were down to pen and paper, or using the last lingering batteries of their laptops. All the screens behind Cat’s desk were dark. She didn’t turn around, hating the look of them.

Despite the constant efforts of imbecilic alien threats, blackouts weren’t that common in National City. And if they did happen they never lasted long. As a kind of contingency, Cat kept an eye on Kara. She watched her assistant very closely on these days, checking if there was any extra tension in her shoulders. Anything about her eyes that carried the look she got when something big was going on. Honestly, the girl was so transparent. How anybody else was fooled by the glasses and the cheap cardigans was anyone’s guess. But Cat supposed people were lazy, if they weren’t outright stupid. 

“Sorry, sorry—I meant to be quicker!”

Cat squinted as Kara entered her office. The summer heat didn’t affect her assistant, of course. Yet another obvious clue. The lack of central air at Catco didn’t result in beads of sweat forming on Kara’s face, on her neck, her clavicle. On the soft skin between her nose and mouth. More’s the pity. Not that Cat was looking that close. She was just observant. 

“Here you go, Miss Grant.”

Kara handed her a cup. The coffee inside was blistering; Cat could feel it through the paper.

“Did I say I wanted hot coffee, Karen?”

Kara tilted her head and set her jaw. Like she was torn between being annoyed at getting this simple thing wrong, or else wondering how she’d been demoted even lower than _Kiera._

“Um, you usually…”

“Yes, well, I’m not usually basting in my own sweat, either,” Cat snapped. “But sure, why not cook me alive with a beverage as hot as the sun?”

“Oh gosh,” Kara fumbled. “I’m sorry?”

“Was that a question?”

“No.”

Never mind that this was usually Cat’s required temperature. Never mind that she hadn’t actually requested a cooler drink. Was it so hard to anticipate her needs? Cat could taste the sweat rolling down her face, feel the material of her shirt sticking to her back.

“How hard is it to fix a few broken fuses?”

“It’s the whole city, Miss Grant…”

“I know. Don’t think I’m not on the phone with the mayor. He’s lucky the hospitals have backup generators.”

“They do?” 

Cat sighed. She stood up and dumped the whole cup into her waste basket. 

“Get me something cold, Kiera,” she said. “I don’t care what, as long as it’s the same temperature as Antarctica.”

Cat tried not to enjoy the way Kara’s face lit up as Cat called her something closer to the right name. Tried not to smile at the spring it put in her step as she hurried off.

* * *

The first thing Kara brought back was an iced coffee. It was in the same kind of takeout cup that Noonan’s had, but Cat’s first swallow was sweeter, creamier. And the cold of it against her tongue made her let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. Oh God, thank God. She could feel the cool liquid make its way down her throat, her body chilling as she felt it flow lower and lower into her stomach. She may have let out an obscene noise. Which was probably why Kara tried to make a quick exit. But before Kara could dart off, Cat pushed forward and managed to snag her by the wrist.

“Stay,” Cat said. “Where did you get this?” 

“The hospital,” Kara said, quickly. Her wrist muscles flexed a little under Cat’s grip. “I know, I know. But they have that generator, so the café inside is cold. Miss Grant, they swore it was sterile.”

“Hmmmmm,” Cat said, letting Kara loose. She tried to find something in her assistant’s expression that hesitated, or dropped or gave Cat even an inch to make something of. Nothing. Just the polite cheeriness that had no business existing on a hundred degree day with no central air. If Cat wasn’t so exhausted she’d be furious. 

“Anything else, Miss Grant?”

“I’m hot again already,” Cat said, waving her off. “Go get me something colder. And make sure you don’t bring back the bubonic plague while you’re at it.”

* * *

A half hour passed and the desk outside her office remained empty. Catco was too quiet. The bullpen, the surrounding rooms; maybe even the entire floor. Only a few echoes, distant voices here and there, to prove Cat wasn’t on some lone isolated planet. Technology gave a surprising amount of life to things, and without it the air felt static. Trying not to care, Cat took out her pen and marked up the layout they’d manage to print off before all the drama. Her mind wandered, though. Her face was flushed, hands clammy. She was sure she had pit stains. Certain she was beginning to stink. 

Kara returned with a flourish, not looking the least bit heavy on her feat. Cat narrowed her eyes and waited to see what new impossibility she was going to have to swallow.

“Did you go all the way to Mars for my take-out?”

“What?” Kara nearly stumbled over her own feet, eyes widening. “I’ve never been to another planet, Miss Grant!”

Cat sighed, and Kara hurried to give her something. The moment Cat realized what it was, she let out a breath. She took the proffered bowl from Kara’s hand, shooting her assistant a side-eye before sinking the spoon in. The ice cream was hard. Almost too cold for the metal utensil to dig its way through. Cat felt the creamy vanilla melt on her tongue as she slid the spoon into her mouth. She couldn’t stop the small noise of pleasure that escaped. She heard a little answering sound from Kara, but when Cat looked up her assistant had scurried away, back to her desk. 

Cat ate the entire bowl. Two large scoops. Full fat and the residue lingering against her tongue and the roof of her mouth. The vanilla still there when she licked her lips.

* * *

Cat Grant was good at knowing when she was being watched. Sure, that was most of the time, due to overwhelming fame and the delicious fear she often inspired in her work minions. But there was a particular way that Kara watched her. Anticipatory. A tiny bit of fear. And something else that Cat tried not to think too hard about, because it was inappropriate to think about your assistant like that. Regardless of how many buildings she could leap in a single bound. 

Cat toyed with the ceramic bowl with the tips of her fingers. It was warming already, a little condensation on the outside, and a stickiness she couldn’t avoid coming into contact with. 

“Kiera!”

Kara made her way in, shuffling her cheap shoes against the lush carpet. A pad of paper and a pen in hand, her iPad battery no doubt flat.

“Yes, Miss Grant.”

Cat held out the bowl, one handed. Licking a finger on her other hand, and trying not to enjoy the blush on Kara’s face as she darted forward to take it, not quite meeting Cat’s eye. Time seemed to slow a little as their fingers brushed. 

“Ice cream,” she said it slowly. “I was not aware that the hospital peddled single servings of ice cream to passers by.”

Kara shrugged, but didn’t offer an explanation. Honestly, it was like she wanted to be found out. 

Cat hummed a little, watching Kara twitch a little under her scrutiny. A line of worry in Kara’s brow. There was some tension in her mouth, a stiffness to her shoulders. 

“I don’t need to be concerned, do I?” Cat asked. She tried to sound casual. Like she was enquiring about the price of a blueberry muffin, instead of poking at the source of a deep fear.

“Um, I’m not sure…”

“The power’s out, Kara,” she said, and she knew she sounded tired. Knew she had lost the levity of the previous moment. “I trust Leslie is safely locked away in some deep dark government hole? Hopefully one reinforced by a decent power grid.”

Kara smiled, but it was full of nerves. She was fidgeting, adjusting her glasses. Her voice came out too high.

“Why would I know that? I don’t…I mean ….I _hope_ it’s fine. Of course it’s all fine.”

That’s when Cat realized she’d slipped up. Forgotten her carefully crafted façade, and uttered the girl’s actual name. Kara gaping at her like someone whose sunglasses had been yanked away, leaving her blinking into too-bright sun. Cat sighed, glancing upward.

“I just want to know if I should be in a panic room, somewhere," she said. “That’s not asking much, is it?”

“No,” Kara said. Her voice was a little tremulous still. But her posture was straighter, her expression had more strength behind it. “I’m sure it’s just the grid collapsing because everyone turned their central air on at once. That’s it.”

Cat searched her face for the lie, and found none. She immediately relaxed. She closed her eyes and let out a breath.

“Ok.”

“Miss Grant.” Kara sounded nervous again, like she was on the verge of launching into something long and meandering. 

“No,” Cat said, her voice a warning. “You are doing so well, Kara. Why would you ruin it by lying to me?”

“I wasn’t…”

“Sure.”

“I just don’t know what you think you—”

“And there it is.”

They were silent. A stalemate, or perhaps Cat was simply too tired for games. Kara too overwhelmed for explanations. Time ticked on, but the only thing that moved was Kara, pacing. She let out a long breath, looking over at Cat.

“I’d always tell you,” Kara said. “You know that, right?”

Cat frowned a little instead of asking any of the questions that immediately formed in her mind. Kara played with her glasses, before continuing with a look of determination.

“I’d tell you. If she was out. You shouldn’t need to be…” she crossed her arms, but it seemed to be out of nervousness instead of any kind of superhero posturing. “I’ll protect you. I’ll always protect you, Cat.”

Cat swallowed a breath. Her voice failed her. She blinked a few times. Her heartbeat was going too fast, and she was getting warmer still. Too warm for a day like today. 

“I’d like chocolate this time,” she said, the words coming out a little breathless, only hardening into a demand by the end.

Kara shot her a look, a mixture of confusion or amusement.

“Chocolate?”

“It’s a thousand degrees in here,” Cat indicated towards the empty bowl, still in Kara's hand. “We’re not getting any work done anyway.”

Kara smiled. A radiant smile. The kind of smile that toppled empires. The face that launched a thousand ships. Cat tried not to fall too hard. 

“Get two bowls," she shrugged, feigning disinterest. “Or two spoons. Whatever is easiest.”

She didn't watch Kara hurry away. But she knew it was too late. She cared. She was in deep. Too interested, too curious. Too connected to her assistant. 

It was just too hot today. 


End file.
